The Warlock's Return
by Kunzai
Summary: Velma is kidnapped by a mysterious foe, and she and Shaggy discover they have feelings towards one another. Meanwhile, things look set to become one of their scariest adventures yet... ~I'm soooo sorry it took so long!!! Please forgive me!!!~
1. It's not like you

This story takes place after Scooby Doo and the Alien Invadors.  
My first fan-fic I'm posting, and it's a fluff... how unlike me! Oh well, here it is anyway.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters used in this story are owned by Hanna-Babera and Warner Brothers.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One: It's not like you  
  
Velma watched as her friend absent-mindedly stirred his dinner around the plate with a fork, before pushing it away as he slumped over the table, head buried in his arms. It seemed he had not completely gotten over Crystal, after all. For weeks he had been putting on a brave face, and appeared to be his usual self again, but clearly it was just a mask. Her heart ached for him as she hovered by the doorway of his hotel room.  
  
She knocked hesitantly, startling him so that he jumped up, almost falling backwards off his chair.  
  
"Sorry, Shaggy," she stammered, as he turned around to face her, now standing by the table.  
  
"Oh, it's you, Velma," he replied. "Come in, come in!"  
  
Velma stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her. Shaggy smiled at her, yet his eyes did not hide his sadness.  
  
"Like, was there something you wanted?" he asked. She looked at him searchingly for a moment, before asking:  
  
"Shaggy ----- if you ever feel you need someone to talk to, you know I'm always there for you, right?"  
  
He looked to the floor and fidgeted.  
  
"Aww, thanks Velma. That really means a lot to me..."  
  
For a while, there was an awkward silence as the two of them stood in front of each other, both looking to the ground. Loud doggy snores broke the silence.  
  
Shaggy looked up suddenly, as if snapping out of a day dream.  
  
"Hey, uhm, why don't you sit down?"  
  
"Thanks, I will," said Velma, as they each took a seat. She wasn't sure how to approach this topic, so she just came out and said it.  
  
"I'm worried about you Shaggy - I've never seen you like this."  
  
"What are you talking about?" he retorted, "I'm just the same as ever -"  
  
"You haven't touched your dinner," she interrupted.  
  
"- I wasn't hungry..."  
  
"You see what I mean? It's not like you."  
  
Shaggy looked down at his hands on the table and sighed. He could fool Scooby; he could fool Freddie and Daphne, too. But he couldn't fool Velma.  
  
"It's been hard," he admitted in a quiet voice. "Accepting that the only person I've ever loved - the only person who could ever love me..."  
  
"Now come on," said Velma sympathetically, "do you really believe that?"  
  
"Well - yeah. I kinda do."  
  
"Then you'd be wrong."  
  
Velma reached across the table and placed her hands over his. Shaggy looked up and saw she was looking him straight in the eyes. He held her gaze for a few seconds, then stood up and turned away, and Velma lifted her hands as he took away his own. He stood with his back to her on the other side of the room, staring out the window, yet seeing nothing. Velma watched him for a while, and he stood, still and silent as the night.  
  
  
  
Sooo..... what do you think of the first chapter? If you liked it, please review ^-^ If you have any suggestions as to the rest of the story, let me know, and I'll see what I think! One thing - I like a bit of action in my stories, so this will not be purely a fluff. Oh and another thing - if anyone has suggestions for a better title, also let me know.  
Thankyou, I hope you enjoyed reading this ^-^ 


	2. Trapped

Chapter Two: Trapped  
  
Velma slowly awoke to the next day. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for about an hour. Fumbling around blindly on the cabinet beside her bed, she reached for her glasses and put them on, peering at the clock.  
  
"10:15?!"  
  
She groaned loudly, wondering why nobody had bothered to wake her up.  
  
The next thing Velma noticed was how dark it was; there should have been a curtain-less window in her hotel room. She sat up in bed, blinking. Still too lazy to actually look around, she realised she was still in her daytime clothes - orange turtleneck, red skirt, and orange stockings. Shrugging, she stepped out of bed into her shoes and opened her eyes fully for the first time.  
  
The room she found herself in - if it could be called a 'room' at all - was a dark, grimy hole, completely bare of any decorations, windows, or furnishings besides her bed, and the only light filtered through from behind it. She ran forwards to examine the wall there, then followed the obvious crack to the floor, lifting up the rug to discover it encompassed the entire bed. Someone had turned this section of the wall around, complete with half the floor and herself. She wouldn't have minded betting that there was an identical but Velma-less bed on the other side of the wall in her place.  
  
She pushed hard against the wall around the bed, trying to force it to turn, but did this in vain. She decided it must be turned by a powerful mechanism underneath the rooms, so it would be hopeless to try pushing the wall by yourself.  
  
Feeling like an animal in a cage, she started hammering on the wall, and shouted for help. After a few minutes she slid down and sat on the bed, guessing either the wall was soundproof, or nobody was around to hear her.  
  
Hopelessly, Velma got up and started searching the walls and the floor for a button, or a pulley, or anything that might turn the bed back to the hotel room behind.  
  
She lifted back a dirty old brown curtain which hung over the wall, and was faced with the exact thing she had hoped for - a lever.  
  
"Jinkeys! I've done it!" she exclaimed gleefully, yet as she pulled it, a nagging voice in the back of her mind warned her that it was too easy...  
  
Before she realised what had happened, the floorboards had opened up beneath her.  
  
'Way to go, Velma,' she thought after the initial shock, as she fell straight into another trap.  
  
  
  
  
*typey-types to get the next chapter up ASAP* 


	3. "Let's split up, gang!"

Chapter Three: "Let's split up, gang!"  
  
"That's odd," said Freddie, "Velma wouldn't just take off like that, would she?"  
  
"No, Fred, I'm sure she wouldn't," replied Daphne. "There's something not-quite-right about this hotel, I sensed it when we arrived."  
  
"Well, if we want to find Velma," Freddie began, "there's only one thing to do -"  
  
"Like, Okay Fred," Shaggy groaned, hands in the air, not wishing to hear the words 'Let's split up, gang!' one more time. "We all know what you're gonna say, so let's just get on with it. Scoob and I will check this floor, you and Daphne take downstairs."  
  
Freddie blinked at him for a moment, amazed at his own predictability.  
"Uhm, right, right..." he mumbled, as Daphne dragged him away by the arm.  
  
  
"Well, Scoob," Shaggy said after they had gone, "we may as well start with her hotel room."  
  
"R-Okay," came the reply as they made towards the room Velma had slept in.  
  
"Maybe she just left a note or something, explaining some important business she had to take care of..." Shaggy said thoughtfully as they entered the room.  
  
"Rike rwhat?" asked the Great Dane.  
  
"Like, I dunno. I guess we'll just have to find some kind of clue."  
  
"R-I guess..."  
  
The two of them began to search the room thoroughly, opening drawers, and looking underneath furniture. Scooby was attempting to open the doors to the wardrobe. They refused to budge, so he pulled as hard as he could, and sure enough, they suddenly gave way, causing him to fall back hard against the wall beside the bed.  
  
Crreeeaaaak............  
  
"Rouch," muttered Scooby, rubbing his sore back.  
  
"Like, that's weird... walls don't usually creak like that," noticed Shaggy. He pushed against it, and it moved about an inch. "Hey, Scoob! Help me out here!"  
  
Between the two of them, they managed to move the wall so that there was just enough of a gap to squeeze through into the hidden room.  
  
"Sure is dark in here," said Shaggy as Scooby struggled through the crack.  
  
"R-I don't rike it," replied the dog.  
  
"This musta been where Velma was... I wonder where she is now?"  
  
"Rwhat's rat?"  
  
Scooby pointed to the wall, where the old brown curtain was still pulled back.  
  
"A lever!" exclaimed Shaggy, running over. "Gee, I wonder what will happen when I pull it?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
phew.... two chapters in one day.... let's see how much I can get done tomorrow! Check back soon, cos a plan is already formulating as to how the story continues......... 


	4. Beware the Rain of Dogs!

Chapter Four: Beware the Rain of Dogs!  
  
Once again, Velma awoke, a dull pain throbbing in the back of her head. She sat up and opened her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck.  
  
She looked up at the mechanism which extended up to a metal pole adjoined to a circular section of the ceiling high above.  
  
'Well what do you know," she thought with a hint of sarcasm, 'the turning wall was operated from down below.'  
  
Just then, Velma thought she had heard something. She froze where she was, and listened intently.  
  
A voice. No, two. The muffled sound echoed vaguely around the room.  
  
She was just about to come to a conclusion as to the source of those voices, when a most unexpected thing happened.  
  
"ZOINKS!!!"  
  
She was suddenly aware of someone who was undoubtedly Shaggy, hurtling down towards her from the now-open trap door in the ceiling, and instinctively rolled out of the way of danger.  
  
The call of distress was almost immediately followed by a sound of 'THUD' and a:  
  
"Yeeaaoouuch!!!"  
  
Luckily, Shaggy remained conscious, but lay there on his back with his arms spread out, an expression of utter shock firmly imprinted on his features. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be the only thing imprinted on him.  
  
"Raggy!" came the worried call as Scooby's head popped through the opening above. "R-I'm coming!"  
  
"No - Scoob! Wait!" said Shaggy quickly, his arms shooting up to gesture him to stop.  
  
Too late.  
  
Scooby had already dived from the door, just before it closed again, and before he knew it, Shaggy was flattened almost completely into the floor by the massive Great Dane which had used him as a landing pad.  
  
"Relma!" exclaimed Scooby, completely oblivious to the slightly squashed Shaggy as he ran to her side. Wagging his tail furiously, he ran a huge wet doggy-lick over her cheek.  
  
"I'm glad to see you too, Scooby!" chuckled Velma as she made her way towards the green splat in the centre of the room.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked him as she offered him a hand. With a sheepish, slightly cross-eyed expression on his face, he took it, and she proceeded to virtually peel him off the floor.  
  
"I'll survive," he replied in an unsteady voice, as he stood half bent over, hand behind his head. "it's no worse than anything Daphne could have done to me," he added.  
  
"True," Velma smiled. They suddenly realised they were both still holding hands from when she had helped him up, and each quickly withdrew them, looking away in embarrassment.  
  
Velma turned around, focusing her attention on their new surroundings. Other than the huge mechanism in the centre, the room was completely barren, its reaches extending far into the darkest corners.  
  
"That's strange," said Velma, thinking aloud. "Why would anyone build a hotel with complex traps and secret rooms? I guess they were most likely added later. We'll have to research the history of this place..."  
  
"Um," interrupted Shaggy, "I'm all for solving mysteries and all that, but, like, shouldn't we be looking for a way out?  
  
Scooby sat up on his hind quarters, side by side with Shaggy, and nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"What I want to know is who was the one to turn my bed into the secret room, and trap me in the first place, and why?"  
  
As they pondered this silently, a darkness within the shadows shifted menacingly nearby, but it didn't go unnoticed.  
  
"Zoinks!" Shaggy gasped as he jumped into Scooby's outstretched arms, staring fearfully into the terrifying unknown lurking just in front of them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Well, here's the latest from the Scooby gang! Wow, thank you WebMistressGina, high praise indeed! Hopefully this chapter is longer than the others, but I think it should be ok to have short chapters, since I update frequently :) I'd also like to thank Lady Strata, Mewberries, and anyone else for returning to my fic! And thank you to everyone who commented, for your kind words! Look out for the next chapter soon! 


	5. Nightmare Vision

Chapter Five: Nightmare Vision  
  
"It's a rat, Shaggy," said Velma flatly. The terrified expression on Shaggy's face quickly turned to puzzlement.  
  
"Uh, yeah, like I totally knew that!" he said, helping himself back to his feet as Scooby chuckled at him.  
  
"Yeah, sure you did," Velma giggled. But then, his expression changed again as he saw something so terrifying and incomprehensible happening behind Velma.   
  
The rat had stopped still, stood on its hind legs, and was now going through an extraordinary transformation, growing at an alarming rate. The vile thing slowly metamorphosed into something vaguely human right before Shaggy's eyes.  
  
"V-V-Velma!!!" he stuttered, his knees knocking together. Scooby had stiffened up as well. Velma had a look on her face as if to say, 'oh, what now?'. "B-b-behind you!!!!" Shaggy stammered, pointing a shaky finger.  
  
Velma's screams pierced the darkness, as she spun around to find herself staring face to face with a nightmare vision. A dark figure stood before her, arms crossed, its eyes gleaming red beneath its hood, as its rat-like features stretched into a sharp-toothed grin. It has to be noted that if, on a rare occasion, Velma screams, then it must be for something worth screaming about. The hooded fiend suddenly extended a clawed hand towards her, and with lightning reflexes she swept her foot hard against his leg, causing him to fall forwards as she made a quick getaway.  
  
As she turned to run, she caught a glimpse of Shaggy and Scooby, both frozen to the spot, eyes wide, and shivering violently. Shaggy's hair was standing on end as if he had been electrocuted. Without a moments hesitation, Velma ran between them, grabbing them both by the arm and forcing them to run alongside her.  
  
Now it was Shaggy and Scooby's turn to scream as they ran, Scooby on all fours, and Shaggy with his arms flailing wildly in the air. The hooded fiend was now back on his feet, and hot on their heels.  
  
None of them knew where they were running to, as it was too dark to tell if there were any doorways. As they approached a wall, they could just make out a dumpster filled with rubbish that had to be at least five years old. Shaggy and Velma glanced at each other and nodded, as if sharing the same plan. All three of them dove behind the dumpster, and tipped it up on the fiend chasing them, before running away again.  
  
"Like, it's every chicken for themselves!" yelled Shaggy, and they each started to run in different directions, as the hooded fiend struggled with the capsized dumpster, his anger obvious by his muffled roaring.  
  
In one clean move he hurled the dumpster into the wall, his roar now amplified by the echoes within the cavernous room. By now, Shaggy, Scooby and Velma were each hiding in different corners of the room.  
  
Shaggy shivered fearfully, watching through a hole in the cloth he was hiding behind as the horrific creature made his way across the room. The petrified boy tried to keep his heavy breathing as silent as possible, his shaking hand clapped over his mouth, as the shadow drew nearer. He watched as it turned this way and that, now running forward, now stooping. Then, its glowing red eyes seemed to look directly at him, and it marched forward, locked on its target. Shaggy was just about to run, when it lurched to the side and pulled Velma out of her hiding place, before dragging her away, kicking and screaming.  
  
"Velma!" Shaggy had meant to shout it, but it sounded barely above a whisper, as in those frightful dreams where the worst is befallen, and all hope is lost.  
  
  
  
  
  
*shivers, eyes wide* eeep! I actually scared myself! Ok, Ok, it's not just a fluff anymore! Seriously, if this is too scary to be rated G let me know and I'll change it, but just to warn you... it's gonna get a lot scarier. 


	6. A Score to Settle

Chapter Six: A score to settle  
  
  
"Well that's just great," Freddie snapped. "Not only has Velma gone missing, but now Shag and Scoob are nowhere to be seen!"  
  
"Something must have happened to them," replied Daphne, "and I can't help thinking that whatever it is, we're next."  
  
They stepped into the elevator without another word. Three other people were in there, a family comprised of two parents and a boy of around five years. They punched the top floor and waited, staring at the door.  
  
However, Freddie had noticed something. When the doors opened, the family got out, but Freddie grabbed Daphne by the arm to stop her from leaving.  
  
"Freddie, what's the matter?" she demanded. "We were going to get our bags -"  
  
"Look," he interrupted, pointing to the elevator controls.  
  
"Yeah, it's a control panel, so what?" Daphne asked, hands on her hips.  
  
"It's a new control panel. See, the old one is still there, underneath." He was now pointing to an old fashioned lift control, operated by a switch that you would turn a quarter circle to the name of the floor you were heading to, only it was disabled now by glass casing.  
  
"I still don't see -" began Daphne.  
  
"There's one-too-many floors on the old one," Freddie explained.  
  
"How come?" asked Daphne, puzzled. "It's not like they would knock down the top floor of the building?"  
  
"Exactly," Freddie replied. "On the old control panel, it says basement, but there is no basement on the new one."  
  
"Oh, so you mean there's a secret basement. Maybe it was just blocked off, there isn't necessarily anything suspicious about it."  
  
"It's a clue though, isn't it? And there's no harm in finding out -" he then proceeded to rip off the glass casing, and turned the switch to the end of its turning circle, labelled basement. Daphne held onto the rails as it swept down through the floors.  
  
When they reached the bottom and the doors opened, they were a little surprised. Far from being blocked off, they faced a vast underground corridor, its windows boarded up, and the walls and floor were rotting wood. Fred and Daphne just stood there gazing into the darkness for a while.  
  
"Guess we should have brought a torch," said Daphne.  
  
"Come on," Freddie sprang into action, taking her hand, "I bet this is where the rest of the gang got to. We're going to find them."  
  
With that they went down the corridor at quite a fast pace, occasionally stopping to open doors to empty rooms.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Little did they know, Shaggy and Scooby were doing the same thing, only in a different part of the basement. They crept along, Shaggy in front, treading as silently as possible and keeping close to the walls. They turned a corner and were faced with two new directions.  
  
"Like, use your nose, Scoob," whispered Shaggy, "which way did they go?"  
  
Scooby lowered his head and stuck his nose to the ground, walking a few feet in each direction of the corridor they were faced with. Then he turned back around and sprang into pointer position, indicating the corridor to the right.  
  
"Rey went rat-a-way!" he stated proudly.  
  
"Like, thanks pal," replied Shaggy, and they continued to creep down the maze-like corridor.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Ow, hey!" Velma struggled as the rat person bound her wrists around the back of the chair. Her ankles had already been tied. Satisfied he had tied her up sufficiently, he scurried over to a cauldron in the centre of the room and began to stir the foul smelling potion inside.  
  
"Why have you brought me here?" Velma demanded. "What do you want from me?"  
  
He turned towards her, showing his sharp teeth with a wide grin. "Master needs you to read out a spell," he said in a weedy voice. "See, it's in Latin, and I can't read Latin - rats don't generally get a good education." He walked over to an old battered bookcase full of labelled jars and old books, and pulled out a scroll. He came over to Velma, unrolling the old paper, and showed it to her.  
  
"Besides," he added, suddenly sounding a lot more threatening, "the Master has a score to settle with you." 


	7. Knight in Shining Armour

Chapter Seven: Knight in Shining Armour  
  
  
Velma poured over the Latin text, hurriedly translating it into English a sentence at a time in her head. Her face changed into a look of horror as she began to realise just what was asked of her.  
  
"No!" she cried, "I won't have any part in this!"  
  
The rat-like fiend's sly features turned to an angry grimace. "Do you know how much trouble I went to, just to get you to read this out?!" he growled.  
  
Velma narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "I assume you've been following us for some time, then?"  
  
"Yesss... that's right," he hissed. "I knew the Master could count on me... whatever it would take, I knew I wouldn't fail him."  
  
"Let me guess - you were the one behind the mysterious phone call, raving about some mystery we had to come and solve near here. Of course, we didn't find anything because that was just your scheme to lure us to the hotel, because of its many old traps and secret rooms!"  
  
"Right again, smart one. And then I simply turned to rat form and gave your four flat tyres, so you wouldn't leave."  
  
"Just as I suspected. Well, it looks as though all your troubles have been in vain, because there is no way I am going to recite this spell and bring your Master back!" she yelled, making it quite clear for him.  
  
The servant to the Master stood fuming at her, seeming to boil over like the potion in the cauldron. Too angry for words, he turned sharply and stormed out of the room, and for the first time she noticed his long worm-like tail dragging behind him under his cloak.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"L-l-like, I think the c-coast is clear," stuttered Shaggy, his heart hammering on his chest. He and Scooby were pressed flat against the wall, panting with fear. Luckily, the rat fiend had overlooked them, and had now turned the corner down the corridor.  
  
"R-I rope so!" replied Scooby, as they strained their necks to look past the corner of the doorway behind them, just to make sure.  
  
Shaggy crept forward with exaggerated movements, stooping at least a foot at every silent contact between his toes and the ground, as his faithful dog 'twinkle-toed' up behind him.  
  
"Psssst! Velma!" Shaggy whispered, peering around the door frame. Scooby's head popped up to join him.  
  
"Shaggy!" Velma exclaimed joyfully. "I knew you'd come!"  
  
"Heh, yeah - your knight in shining armour..."  
  
"Well, come on! Untie me already!"  
  
He rushed forward with Scooby, and they each took a knot. Once she was untied, Velma stood up and rubbed her sore wrists.  
  
"Thanks, guys," she sighed with relief.  
  
"Like, what was that thing about the spell? We could hear you, but what was it about?" asked Shaggy.  
  
"I'll explain later, Shaggy - right now we have to find a way out; we should avoid going the way the rat creature went, if we can."  
  
Shaggy looked around. "Hey, it's some kind of chute!" he exclaimed, pointing to an opening in the wall. "It should lead up to ground level!"  
  
"Good work, Shaggy!" Velma replied as they rushed to the wall.  
  
Shaggy and Scooby stopped short of the entrance, and gestures that one another should go first.  
  
"After you," offered Shaggy.  
  
"Ro, rafter you!" came the reply.  
  
"No, no, no, I insist! After you!"  
  
Knowing this could go on for hours, Velma came up behind them and shoved them both through the vent, as they voiced reluctant yelps.  
  
They crawled up through the metal tunnel, Scooby in front, then Shaggy, and Velma at the back.  
  
"Like, can you see where you're going, Scoob?"  
  
"R-I rink so."  
  
"Oh boy. He thinks so," Shaggy groaned. "So tell me Velma, who is this Master guy the rat-thing wants you to bring back?"  
  
"You're not going to believe me when I tell you Shaggy, so I'll just come straight out with it. The Master is ----"  
  
Before she could say anymore, all three of them suddenly found themselves falling. They had hit a sharp decline in the dark tunnel, and it was covered with slippery oil all the way down. They all screamed, bracing for impact with the ground at any moment.  
  
The tunnel came to an abrupt end and they slid through a flap covering the opening to another room. Scooby held onto his feet and braked effectively, skidding to a halt, but Shaggy rolled uncontrollably to the other side of the room, landing on his back with his feet against the wall, up above his head. Velma fell out after him, but managed to stop herself before crashing into the wall too. They all jumped as a mocking voice startled them.  
  
"Well, isn't this a nice surprise? I'm glad you could drop in!" The rat-person looked down at them, arms folded over his chest.  
  
Shaggy leapt to his feet, a sudden burst of bravery upon him, and waved his fists about in the air. "Like, listen up, you filthy rodent! Velma stays with us! If you lay another finger on her, I'll - I'll ---"  
  
"You'll do what?" he laughed, advancing on Shaggy. Though a former rat, in his human form he was quite large and intimidating. He grabbed the boy by his longish hair and pinned him against the wall. Shaggy was in too much pain to fight back.  
  
"Rooby Rooby Doo!!!" called the Great Dane, hurtling towards the rat-fiend.  
  
"Look out, Scooby!" Velma cried, but he ran straight past her, knocking her glasses clean off her face. Deprived of her vision, Velma could only listen to the chaos that had ensued within the room as she blindly fumbled for her ever-eluding glasses.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Yes, yes... it's another cliff-hanger, I know! Now, just bear with me, this story is finally getting somewhere! I hope you all like it so far, the next few chapters should be getting more interesting, and answer a lot of your questions....... 


	8. The Ultimatum

Chapter Eight: The Ultimatum  
  
  
"Look at this, Freddie!" called Daphne as she turned towards a small room. Freddie appeared behind her. What they saw was an old wooden chair, and two lengths of rope lying nearby. Freddie rushed forward and picked up one of them.  
  
"Hey, this one looks like it's been chewed," he said, handing it to Daphne.  
  
"Eww!" she cried, dropping it on the floor, "it's still soggy!"  
  
"I'm betting Scooby was in here recently, maybe Velma and Shaggy too."  
  
"But where did they go?" she asked, wiping her hands on her dress.  
  
"I'm not sure," he replied, "we'll just have to keep searching."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Velma opened her eyes and woke up. Again. In the confusion of the fight, she had obviously been knocked unconscious. Again.  
  
'I'm gonna have a lot of bumps on my head by the time this is over,' she thought. She tried to rub it, but found that her hands were chained to the wall. She peered at the shape in front of her, and was suddenly aware that someone was standing over her and sliding her glasses onto her face.  
  
As her vision cleared, she found herself looking straight into the horrid, grinning face of the humanoid rat, his red eyes glowing with delight.  
  
"About time you woke up," he growled, "because now you have a real reason to read out that spell."  
  
He stepped aside, revealing a large aquarium some five metres away, and Shaggy and Scooby were hanging over it, tied together and dangling from a rope!  
  
"Like, there's piranhas down there, man!" Shaggy yelled.  
  
"Reah, rig ones!" added Scooby.  
  
Velma gasped with shock and turned sharply towards the rat fiend. "Do you think you can get away with this?! When they find us, you'll be sorry!"  
  
"No one's going to find us," he said calmly. Approaching Velma, he reached inside his cloak and whipped something out. Velma cringed and turned away protectively. "Here," he said, dropping it in front of her. She was still crouched on the floor, and could read it quite easily from her position.  
  
She eyed him warily, still not seeing the sense in the situation. "But why couldn't you have made anyone read it? Why go to the bother of finding me? I mean Latin is easy enough to just read out --"  
  
"But you have to know what you're saying!" he snapped. "And you were one of the people present when he was banished!"  
  
The rat fiend barred his teeth menacingly and moved over to the pulley that operated the length of the rope Shaggy and Scooby were on. He twisted it back a full turn, and the boy and the dog plummeted a foot closer to the surface of the water, stopping with a jerk, and yelping in fear. Velma's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe the ultimatum she was faced with.  
  
"Now READ." 


	9. The Master Revealed

Chapter Nine: The Master Revealed  
  
  
Freddie and Daphne searched the room Velma had been tied up in, hoping to find any sort of clue that might reveal the current whereabouts of their friends, or solve the mystery of why they had been kidnapped anyway.  
  
"This stuff is pretty weird," said Freddie, pulling out an old book on the occult from the dusty bookshelf. He flicked through it and replaced it, then turned his attention towards a jar labelled 'eye of newt'. "How original," he mumbled.  
  
"Hey, look!" exclaimed Daphne, who was bending down and looking at the floor.  
  
"What is it?" asked Freddie, walking over.  
  
"Something was dragged out of here," she said, pointing to the wooden floorboards, where there were some very faint marks which led out the door.  
  
"You're right!" he replied. "Come on, let's follow them!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"You'd better do what he says, Velma!" Shaggy whimpered, kicking his legs as if he was trying to swim in the air.  
  
"Reah, reah! Rickly!" said Scooby.  
  
"But you don't know who he's trying to bring back!" called Velma.  
  
The rat fiend shot her a foul look. "Perhaps you need a little demonstration?"  
  
He picked up a joint of ham from the floor and tossed it into the tank. Instantly the piranhas swarmed around the meat and in a flurry of teeth they stripped it to the bone within thirty seconds. Shaggy gulped loudly as he, Scooby and Velma watched in horror.  
  
"If you don't want the same to happen to your boys, you'll do as I say!"  
  
Velma sat up and looked around. It was hopeless; she saw no means of escape, no means to save her friends other than to read the spell. The "master's" servant had brought the cauldron in here, and had drawn a strange symbol on the floor, on a large scale. Surrounding it were candles, and he now proceeded to light them from one of the fiery torches he had taken from its holder on the wall.  
  
Velma watched him and trembled. Now finished preparing the ritual, he turned and looked at her angrily.  
  
"Stop stalling!" he bellowed, and marched over to the pulley, lowering Shaggy and Scooby another foot. They screamed as the surface of the water was now close enough for the hungry piranhas to leap out and snap at them.  
  
"Rikes!" cried Scooby.  
  
"All right!" shouted Velma. "I'm reading it now!"  
  
The rat fiend chuckled wickedly as she looked over the parchment. In a quiet, shaking voice she began to read out the spell.  
  
"Ab aeterno, ad infinitum, non compos mentis."  
  
Shaggy and Scooby watched her with bated breath. They knew that whatever was going to happen, whoever the master was, they must be something really terrible.  
  
Velma began to read more quickly now, raising her voice a little as the rat fiend stood over her. Sensing she had nearly finished reading the spell, he went over to the cauldron.  
  
"Vae victis! Non omnis moriar! Resurgum! Resurgum!"  
  
A swirl of colour and dark form was materialising in the centre of the symbol.  
  
"L-l-like - what's happening?" stammered Shaggy.  
  
"R- rI don't row!" replied Scooby.  
  
The rat fiend dropped something into the cauldron, causing a mini explosion.  
  
"Écco! Vide! Igitur!"  
  
Suddenly the dark swirl took a human form. The man now standing in its place roared triumphantly, his long dark locks flowing as if in a wind. He laughed evilly, and the three friends shuddered at the sound.  
  
The warlock they were looking at was none other than Ben Ravencroft.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Finally! So, now you all know who the master is, how many of you had guessed? Come on, be honest ;) Well, if you haven't seen the new animated film Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost, you won't know him, but don't worry, a short explanation will be in next chapter.  
  
If you're wondering what those Latin phrases meant, here are the translations - I thought it better to put them down here than to spoil the flow of the story:  
  
"Ab aeterno, ad infinitum, non compos mentis." = From eternity, to infinity, he cannot be found.  
  
"Vae victis! Non omnis moriar! Resurgum! Resurgum!" = Woe to the vanquished! He shall not wholly die! Rise again! Rise again!  
  
"Écco! Vide! Igitur!" = Look! See! Rejoice!  
  
Once more, a big thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, and thanks to those who have returned to it :) If it weren't for reviews half the authors on fanfiction.net would just give up on their stories before they were finished, so you see how much they mean ^-^ 


	10. Superiority Complex

All right, enough with the suspense! Here comes Part Two:  
  
  
  
Brief history of Ben Ravencroft - Disclaimer: the following events took place in Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost which belonged to Warner Brothers and Hannah-Barbera, and I'm only writing them here for those people who are not familiar with this film and Ben Ravencroft:  
  
This famous horror-writer tricked Mystery Inc. into finding the book of his ancestor, Sarah Ravencroft. Sarah was believed to have been an evil witch, but Ben led the gang into believing she was a good wiccan, who performed healing 'magic'. He explained his obsession with her book by saying it was her medical journals, and if he could only find them, it would clear his family name.  
  
But when they found the book, and discovered it was a spell book and not a journal, nice-guy Ben Ravencroft became the evil, power-hungry warlock he had always been, and his first business was to read out the spell that would bring back Sarah's ghost.  
  
By the bringing back of Sarah Ravencroft, Ben had almost been responsible for the destruction of life on earth as we know it. However, the warlock was more interested in ruling the world than destroying it, so after he tried and failed to return her to the book (only a good wiccan has the power to do that) Sarah had conveniently trapped him in a spherical force field while the Scooby gang desperately tried to stop her. After a very odd relay race which included walking pumpkins and a giant turkey, Velma managed to get the book and persuade Thorn, lead singer in the Hex Girls, who also happened to be one sixteenth wiccan, to read out the spell which would imprison Sarah back into the spell book.  
  
As the effects of her magic were reversed and she fought to prevent the book from sucking her in, Ben was freed of the force field, but the desperate witch resolved not to go back alone, and she grabbed her ascendant by the ankle as the two of them were sucked into the spell book. As the book closed by itself, a burning branch of a tree fell down onto it, and the very pages holding the key to their return went up in flames, as Velma stated: "Ben Ravencroft's last book is a one the world will never read." Not one of them had ever suspected that Ben Ravencroft would one day return.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 10: Superiority Complex  
  
  
"What... happened here?" Daphne gasped as she and Freddie skidded into the room the cauldron had been dragged into. None of the others had yet dared to speak, and looked to the warlock in horror.  
  
Suddenly, there was a flash of movement as the rat fiend threw himself down at Ben's feet, positioned on his knees.  
  
"Oh, Master, Master! I did what you have asked of me - I brought you back, Master!"  
  
"Yes," replied the Master in a deep voice, "you certainly were successful. I knew a rat turned human would make a good servant."  
  
"Oh, you were right, Master! Master's always right!"  
  
The warlock chuckled at the unthinking servitude of this hybrid creature, before turning his attention to the Scooby gang who surrounded him from different corners of the room. He smirked and began in a quiet voice,  
  
"So, here we all are, once again."  
  
Suddenly, Freddie spoke. "How are you here? How did you come back?"  
  
"Yeah, like didn't you burn along with the spell book?" piped up Shaggy.  
  
"Ha!" he mocked. "A foolish question indeed!"  
  
Shaggy frowned at Ben's superiority complex.  
  
"Nevertheless one I shall answer," he continued. "That spell-book was merely a portal to the world we were trapped in - destroying a portal will by no means destroy a world."  
  
Daphne voiced a hesitant question. "The Witch's Ghost...?"  
  
"Yes, she was there with me," the warlock replied, his face changing to an expression of resentment. He turned away for a moment in thought and his servant went to comfort him. They began to talk amongst themselves of how she had made his time in that world an utter nightmare, and Freddie saw his chance. They couldn't get Shaggy and Scooby down yet, as Ben was facing them, but he sneaked forward and grabbed the nearby key to unlock Velma's chains. She thanked him silently, then got back into position, with the unlocked chains around her wrists again, while Freddie went back to stand behind Daphne.  
  
"Enough about her!" Ben roared as he turned around to face them again. "I should have known I had the power to do anything I wanted without her help!"  
  
Velma still demanded some answers. "How did your servant know how to free you? And how did he know it was us who trapped you in that book?"  
  
A sly look came about Ben's pale face. "I found a way to communicate with the outside world while I was trapped in that place. It gave me a distinct advantage in finding a way out."  
  
Suddenly his eyes flared with rage. "I wouldn't have had to go through all that if it hadn't been for all of you!" he yelled.  
  
As he said this, he shot an energy ball through his accusing finger, which hit the pulley for Shaggy and Scooby's rope.  
  
The pulley shattered into a thousand pieces.  
  
With the rope holding them up now unattached to anything, Shaggy and Scooby began to free-fall towards the huge tank filled with those terrible, vicious, and hungry beasts - the piranhas.  
  
  
  
  
  
Phew finally have the time to write this again. Oh and don't worry, chapter 11 is on its way ^-^ Again, a big thank you to everyone who commented on this story so far :) 


	11. Why couldn't Scooby be a Chihuahua?

I'm SOOOOOOOO sorry!!! I'm so mean for leaving it like that after all the trouble with fanfiction.net's server!!! I'm amazed I actually have people who want me to continue, even after all this time! You guys are great! *sniffle* =) Well you asked for it, so here's the next chapter (sorry to Shaggy and Scooby, who were forced to spend several MONTHS falling gradually closer and closer to those piranhas) =)  
  
  
  
Chapter 11: Why Couldn't Scooby be a Chihuahua?  
  
  
A surge of adrenaline overtook Velma's body. Before she even realised what had happened, she had leapt out of the unlocked chains and onto the control panel, reaching to push the big blue button she had deduced must be the roof control of the piranha tank.  
  
Luckily for Shaggy and Scooby, she was right. They landed on the thick, strong glass, still tied back to back, Shaggy facing down through the glass with half his face squashed against it. He watched with some horror as the deadly beasts furiously circled the surface of the water directly below, deprived of their latest promise of a meal. He tried not to think about the fact that they would have been in there.  
  
"Zoinks," he said quietly, and Scooby sighed with relief.  
  
Ben spun around to see what had taken place, then turned back to see Velma directly in front of him, still leaned over the small control panel, and looking up at him wide-eyed. Freddie and Daphne had run forward too, and were right behind her.  
  
"Hm," he grunted. "You're always saving each other, aren't you?"  
  
"Just what do you think you're going to do, Ben?" Freddie interrupted, frowning.  
  
The warlock let out a quiet cackle. "Well, it was always my priority to rule the earth, but I think I'll start with getting my revenge on all of you!"  
  
With that he waved his arms over his self and suddenly acquired a green glow. Then he began to levitate and rose from the ground until he was above all of their heads. He cackled again and aimed another energy ball.  
  
Freddie instinctively dove to push Daphne and himself out of its path, and it burned an impressive hole through the wall on the other side of the room.  
  
"Come on, guys!" urged Velma, pulling them up. They ran to the piranha tank, Freddie deliberately knocking over the rat fiend, and on seeing the amount of rope used on their two friends, who resembled a couple of unfortunate flies half enclosed in a spider's silken cocoon, realised they were going to have to carry them to safety.  
  
Between the three of them, they were just able to lift the boy and the Great Dane off the top of the tank, and half dragged them out of the nearest door, back into the maze-like corridors of the underground floor, dodging energy balls all the while.  
  
"After them!" Ben roared in frustration. His rat-like servant frantically scrambled to his feet at this order.  
  
"Yes, Master," he said quickly while bowing low, then ran after the gang.  
  
"Like, hurry gang, hurry!" Shaggy yelled.  
  
"Reah, raster, raster!" added Scooby.  
  
"We're... going... as fast... as we... can!" panted Daphne.  
  
"Oh, Scooby," said Freddie as he withdrew one hand to wipe the sweat off his brow, "why couldn't you have been a Chihuahua or something?"  
  
"Rmph!" came the huffy reply.  
  
On seeing the rat servant hot on their heels, the gang were able to pick up a little speed.  
  
Unfortunately, the rope which had held Shaggy and Scooby above the piranha tank was still trailing along the floor behind them. The rat servant saw this and smugly stamped on the end of it, stopping them with surprising strength.  
  
The rope pulled taut and Shaggy and Scooby stopped with a jerk. The gang had been nearing a corner, and the suddenness of this action caused Freddie, Daphne and Velma to fall against the wall in front of them...  
  
...and into it. There was apparently a secret opening which led down to the lower rooms they had been in before, and by the sounds of the screams and the skidding the way to get there was down more sharply declined chutes.  
  
Still levitating, Ben came into view. He was a fair distance behind his servant, who was still standing on the end of the rope, a horrid smirk on his face.  
  
Shaggy and Scooby, still firmly tied up and now helpless, fearfully watched Ben approaching them, and shivered all the while. 


	12. The Split

. .  
Um, hello =) Yes, I am back... I updated chapter eleven (which had not worked the first time due to technical difficulties at the site), but this didn't put the story to the front of the "most recently updated" list, so most of you wouldn't have noticed. Hopefully submitting Chapter Twelve will do the trick. Happy reading. ^-^  
  
  
  
Chapter 12: The Split   
  
  
Ben's levitation spell wore off and he let himself descend to the ground. Presently he was running towards them, still a little while behind his servant.   
  
Shaggy saw a chance and quickly whispered something to Scooby, who nodded.   
  
"Okay, when I say..." mumbled Shaggy, watching for the best timing.   
"Now!" he yelled, and he and Scooby grabbed different parts of the rope with their teeth and gave a sharp tug.   
  
The servant standing on the other end was forced to fall backwards - right into the oncoming Ben!   
  
As they fell into a heap and struggled to get up, Shaggy and Scooby managed to bounce their rope-cocoon into an upright position, and started to hop away. Ben angrily threw an energy ball straight at them.   
  
Shaggy and Scooby stopped in their tracks, only to discover that the energy ball had done no more damage than to split the ropes free from them.   
  
"Like, thanks man!" said Shaggy, turning back to see the very frustrated warlock, before he and Scooby turned tail and dove straight into the secret opening in the wall.   
  
"Rooby Dooby Dooooooooooooo!!!" exclaimed the Great Dane as they slid down the chute at a great speed. Shaggy however was not enjoying it quite so much. Inside it was dark - pitch black in fact. The entire length of the chute had been greased so there was nothing they could do to slow their descent.   
  
What they did not see was the fork in the downhill tunnel before them; the two sub-tunnels were just as steep, but veered off in different directions. Not knowing of the fork's existence, Scooby carried on sliding down the right-side tunnel.   
  
Shaggy landed rather unfortunately, dead center between the two tunnels. He let out a rather squeaky whimper before stiffly tipping over and falling head first down the tunnel to the left.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*   
  
"Sorry Daphne!" said Freddie, who in the tunnel had been behind her, as he stood up.   
  
"It's Okay..." she groaned, and prised herself off the ground.   
  
Just as Freddie was helping her up, they were knocked straight back down as Scooby flew out of the high opening and onto them.   
  
He got up, shook his head, and looked towards the others.   
  
"Reddie! Raphne!" he exclaimed. Groaning, they were standing up again, but Scooby almost knocked them down a second time as he greeted them happily.   
  
"Okay, Okay!" Freddie chuckled, trying to guard his face against the doggy licks.   
  
Looking around, they were in a rather boring room much like the others in this place.   
  
"I wonder what happened to Velma and Shaggy?" asked Daphne.   
  
"I don't know - I was sure Velma was right behind me when we were falling?" answered Freddie.   
  
"Raggy, too," said Scooby.   
  
"Well they're not here now, so we'd better find them," Daphne said.   
  
"Rhat about Ren?" asked Scooby.   
  
"I guess he and his servant will be coming after us, so we should get out of here," Freddie replied.   
  
"Reah..." said Scooby as they cautiously continued into another maze of corridors. 


	13. Unbottled Emotions

Well, here it is... the dreaded chapter 13. I really hated this when I wrote it (mushy - bleugh), realised the ending was stupid and ended up with a major plot hole so that I had total block. I must apologise to all my readers (if any of you are left) and thank Kuja for helping me finally get this chapter up. Thanks Kuja! =] I still don't like this chapter, but let me know if you have any suggestions for it or the rest of the story. Thank you. =]  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Unbottled Emotions   
  
The sound of screaming steadily increased in volume. All of a sudden, something shot out of the opening and straight into the water below, floundering about beneath the surface in a state of panic.   
  
Velma followed the direction of the sound, and swum over and down towards it. Grabbing what she presumed to be an ankle, she made back to the surface and inhaled sharply.   
  
A split second later was another intake of breath. This time it was Shaggy.   
  
"Velma!" he spluttered.   
  
"Yeah, it's me Shaggy," she replied. "Have you seen my glasses?" she asked as they treaded water.   
  
Rubbing water out of his eyes, Shaggy looked straight at her. It seemed silly, but he had never really seen her without her glasses before. He felt as though he had never actually 'seen' Velma before at all, at least not truly. It was probably a good thing she didn't see the look of wonder painted across his features.   
  
"Uhh - wha?" he replied, somewhat in a stupor.   
  
"My glasses!"   
  
"Oh!" he looked around and caught sight of them floating on the surface of the water a little way off. He paddled over, grabbed them, and returned to her.   
  
Sensing he was near, Velma's hands went up to grab back her precious vision, but Shaggy pushed them back down and carefully slid the glasses onto her face.   
  
"Thanks," she said, relieved.   
  
"No problem," he replied. Suddenly she was the same old Velma again, and he snapped back into reality.   
  
There was a pause before either of them said anymore, then:   
  
"Uh, Shaggy?"   
  
"Mm?"   
  
"They're upside down," she said, and pointed.   
  
"Whoops!" Shaggy chuckled as she turned them around and put them back on. She was laughing too, as they both made their way to the edge of the pool.   
  
They hauled themselves out, and collapsed on the tiles.   
  
"Hey," panted Shaggy, thanks for saving my life before!"   
  
"Well, I wasn't going to let you and Scooby be piranha bait," she replied.   
  
"Yeah, but still - I owe you big-time."   
  
"Oh don't worry about it! You owe me nothing."   
  
Shaggy was too exhausted to argue. He lifted his head from the floor and peered around the room.   
  
"This is one big swimming pool," he said. Velma stood up and attempted to dry her waterlogged glasses on her soaking wet jumper.   
  
"I wonder how deep it goes," she replied.   
  
"Hey - do you see a way out of here?"   
  
Velma quickly surveyed their surroundings. "Good point."   
  
The pool reached up to the wall where the chute came out, and the opening was up a height so there was no way to get to it, and even if they did, the chute was so steep and slippery they'd have little chance of making it to the top anyway. There were no doors, and no windows - the room was lit by old-looking ceiling lights.   
  
Shaggy stood up too and began to wring out his soggy t-shirt.   
  
[note to Quetz: the mushy part which can be ruled out if neccessary begins here]:   
  
Velma sat down hopelessly. She looked so lost and afraid he went to sit next to her.   
  
"Hey," he said, attempting at a soothing voice. "We'll get out of this. Like, we always do, don't we?"   
  
Velma sighed. "I just can't stand this - Ben Ravencroft about to take revenge on the world, and we're just trapped here, nothing we can do about it."   
  
"I know..." Shaggy agreed, and tentatively put his arm around her shoulders. "But, like, at least we have each other's company, right?"   
  
She looked up at him and smiled. Shaggy's heart was racing. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then changed his mind and closed it again. He didn't know where these feelings had come from, but he knew he couldn't suppress them any longer. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, and withdrew his arm as he turned to face her.   
  
"Velma..... I don't know how to say this, so, like, I should just come out with it."   
  
Velma blinked at the serious expression on his face. He continued.   
  
"I... I think I'm falling in love with you."   
  
His heart was absolutely pounding in his chest now. The tension rose to an unbearable height during the silence that followed. Without realising, they were both holding their breath.   
  
Then Velma let hers out.   
  
"Shaggy... over the last few months - well in truth it has been longer than that - but... I think I feel the same way."   
  
She could not believe it. After all this time, it turned out they genuinely had feelings for one another. And after all this time, Shaggy, who was by all means known for, and even proud of his cowardess, was the only one to have the courage to bring those feelings out into the open.   
  
Feeling a tear come into her eye, Velma let herself fall against him as he wrapped his arms around her at the peak of the emotion. Shaggy closed his own eyes as they began to well up.   
  
Still embraced, the two of them just let the tears stream down their faces due to the relief of the bottled up emotions they had harboured for so long. They remained there for some time, as still as two leaning trees in a forest, and feeling as though they were suspended in some other timeless reality where nothing existed but each other. 


End file.
